Magazine rotary drill bit



nuy 29, 1924. 1,502,851

G. w. GALE MAGAZINE ROTARY DRILL BIT -Filed Jan. 2o 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet l Arm/mns GUW, GALE MAGAZINE ROTARY DRILL I'il Filed Jan. 2o`. 1922 2 Smets-sheer 2 Gli/GALL',

A TTOR/VEYS .hay 29, Areza.

GEORGE WASHINGTON GALE, OF I" Dil EY, COLORADO.

. GAZINE ROTARY DRILL Brr.

Application led. January 20, 1922. erial No. 530,595.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE WASHINGTON GALE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Greeley, in the county of Weld and State of Colorado, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Magazine Rotary Drill Bits, of which the followin is a specification. v

y invention relates to drill bits for well drilling'apparatus, and consists in the combination, construction and arrangement herein described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide a drill bit which can be used continuously in the service for which intended with the necessity of withdrawing the bit at intervals for the purpose of sharp-ening the same obviated.

A further object of my invention is toproh vide a bit having no sharp cutting edges and being adapted for disintegrating rock and other substances encountered in the service for which intended with the wear on the bit reduced to a minimum.

A further object of my invention is to provide a bit having a compartment for a supply of grinding or crushing elements for which the bit 1s adapted, which `grinding elements are fed continuously to work enga ing positions at the bit is operated.

her objects and advantages will ap'- pear in the following specification,A and the novel featuresof the invention will be particularly outlined in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming a part of this application, in which Fig. 1 is a view showing one embodiment of my invention in perspective inlapplied position in respect to a drill hole,

Fig. 2 is a sectional view showing the same embodiment of the invention in a drill hole Fig. 3 is a section along the line 3-3 of Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are vertical .sections through modified forms embodying the same invention,

Figure 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the form of the device shown in Figure 6, the view being taken substantially along the line 7--7 of Figure 8, and

Figure 8 is a section along the line 8-8 of Fi ure 7.

'Re erring now to the drawlngs and par-y ticularly to Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive thereof,

the numeral 1 denotes a body portion of generally cylindrical conformation. The body portion 1 is formed of a suitable metal by casting or in any other suitable manner and is preferably reduced externally adjacent to its upper end to provide an integral pipe connection 2 which is threaded externally for engagement with a length of tubin 3.

e body portion 1 is tapered or rounded at its lower end and is provided with a continuous spirally directed groove 4 therein, which groove extends from the approximate transverse median line of the body 1 to its lower end. An aXi-al bore 5 in the lower end of the body portion is enlarged adjacent to the lower end thereof to provide a chamber 6 having lateral or radially extending openings 7 communicating with the groove 4. A s irally directed groove 8 in the inner wall ofP the body 1 extends from the openings 7 to theV lower end of. the body and communicates with the oove 4, as at 9. It will be understood that the number of grooves in the inner and outer wall of the body will be determined by the number of openings 7 and that each groove in the inner wall communicates at its upper end through one of the openings l7 with one of the grooves in the outer wall and communicates at its lower end at the lower end of the body with the 'lower end of the same groove in the outer wall.

The openings 7 are inclined downwardly as clearly shown in the drawings. The respective grooves which have been described are substantially semi-circular in cross sectional contour and are adapted to be traversed by balls 10 which are made of hardened steel or the like and are adapted to resist wear in the service for which intended.

From the foregoing description of the v-arious parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood. When the body 1 is rotated in the usual manner as through torque imparted thereto through the tubular shank 3, the balls 10 entering the grooves 4 at the upper ends thereof will travel along the grooves to the lower end of the body and will then be guided into the groove 8 in the inner wall of the body and will pass upwardly along the latter and through the opening 7 into the groove 4 again for further circulation about the body in the manner described.

A suitable lubricant is placed Within the body and since water is forced into the body through the tubular shank 3 in the usual manner, to wash the pulverized material from the interior of the body, l may make use of soap as a lubricating substance. As the bitis rotated, rock and other substances contacted in the production of the bore of a Well, such as indicated at 11, will be crushed and pulverized without occasioning any appreciable wear on the body 1 and without undue wear or breaking of the steel balls 10. `It will be understood that the body 1 will be charged with a sulcient number of balls at the beginning of the drilling operation to insure a continuous circulation of the balls about the lower portion of the body in the manner described for a considerable length of time, evenV though a considerable percentage of the number of balls initially charged may be broken in service. However, additions to the charge may be made by pouring balls down the tubing 3 as each joint thereof is added.

As stated, modified forms embodying the same invention are illustrated in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. Like reference numerals have been used throughout the several views of the drawings to: designate like parts and I shall therefore confine my description of the modified forms to the differences between such forms and that shown in the preceding views and hereinbefore described.

ln Fig. 4, the body l has but one of the openings 7 formed through its walls, which opening communicates at its outer end with the groove 4 in the outer wall of the body and at its inner end with the chamber 6. The groove 4 is merged at its lower end into a groove 15 which extends in the wall of the chamber 6 from the lower end of the body.- The operation of the form of the device illustrated in Fig. 4- is identical in essential respects with that of the preferred form of the device, which has been described lin detail.

Referring now particularly to Fig. 5, a body 20 has a tubular pi e connectlon 2l at its upper end adapte for connection with a'tubular shank 22. The body 20 is formed with an inwardly and downwardly beveled external shoulder 23 somewhat nearer the upper end thereof than the lower end. Radially extending openings 24 are formed through the walls of the body 20 at the lower end of the shoulder 23 and extend from the outer wall of the body to an axial bore 25 of the latter. The openings 24 are downwardly inclined from their outer ends toward the bore 25. The lat- `ter is enlarged toward the lower end of the body and is provided with spirally directed grooves 26 in its enlarged portion.

extending from the openings 24 to the low er end of the body and communicating at the lower end of the bodyv with spirally directed grooves 27 which extend in the outer wall of the body from the lower end thereof to the openings 24.

The grooves 26 and 27 are adapted to be traversed by the steel balls 10 shown in Figs. 2 and 3 and the operation of the form of the bit illustrated in Fig. 5 differs from the operation of the form illustrated in the preceding view only in that the balls travel upwardly along the grooves 27 and downwardly along the grooves 26, as will be understood.

The form of the device shown in reduced form in Fig. 6 is designed primarily for use in reaming voperations in a drill hole of smaller diameter when a vein of water has been struck and the necessity of discontinuing forcing water downwardly through the body of the drill bit has arisen. For example, the form of the device illustrated in Fig. 6 will have a diameter of approximately six inches when adapted for use in a drill hole formed by a drill bit of approximately four inches in diameter. As shown, the reaming form of the device comprises a cylindrical body 30 having an integral exteriorly threaded pipe connection 31 at its upper end and an axial extension of reduced outer diameter at its lower end, as indicated at 32. Openings such as shown at 33 are provided through the walls of the body 30 adjacent to the upper end thereof and connect an enlarged upper end portion 34 of an axial bore 35 of the body with spirally directed grooves 36 in the outer wall of the body. The openings 33 are inclined downwardly from their inner to their outer ends so that the balls 10 shown in the preceding views will pass outwardly through the openings 33 into the grooves 36. The latter communicate at their lower ends throu h radially extendin openings 37-37 wit spirally directed grooves 38 in the walls of the bore 35, which grooves communicate at their upper ends with the chamber 34 and in consequence, balls passing therealong are ejected through the openings 33 into they groove 36. The pipe connection 31 is adapted for connection with a tubular shank while the bore 35 is adapted to encircle the usual drill tube 40 which is of ,less diameter than said bore, as is usual in reaming a drill hole which has struck a vein of water. The balls are prevented by their contact with the drill tube from falling from the groove 38 through the depending tubular extension 32.

Obviously many modiications and adaptations of the forms of the device illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described herein may be provided without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention and I therefore consider as my own all such modifications and adaptations as properly fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

1. A drill bit comprising abody having an axial bore extending from the lower end of the body, said body having a spiral groove in the outer wall thereof and having also a spiral groove in the wall of said bore, said lgrooves being adapted to be traversed by all members, and said body having a lateral opening adapted for the passage of the ball members between the axial bore and the groove in the outer wall of the body.

2. A drill bit comprising a bodyhaving a spiral groove in the outer wall thereof and having an axial bore extending from the lower end of the body, said groove bein adapted to be traversed by ball members an said bore being adapted for the passage of the ball members therethrough, said body having a lateral opening extending from the wall of the bore through the bottom of said groove, said lateral opening being adapted for the passage of the ball members therethrough. 3. A drill bit comprising a body havin a spiral groove in the outer wall thereof an having an axial bore extending from the lower end of the body, said groove being adapted tol be traversed by ballv members and said bore vbeing adapted for the passage of the ball members therethrough, said body having a lateral opening extending from the wall of the bore through the bottom of said groove at the upper end of the latter, said body also having aspiral groove in the wall of said bore, said last named groove being members.

- 4. -A drill bit comprising a body portion rounded at its lower end and formed to provide an axial bore extending from the lower end thereof for part of the length of the body portion, the upper part of said bore being enlarged and having an opening adjacent to its upper end extending radially through the walls of the body portion, the outer wall of said body portion having a spiral groove extending from said openin to the lower end of the body portion an the lower portion of the axial bore of the body portion having a spiral groove communicating with the spiral groove of the outer wall at the lower end of the latter and extending to the enlarged portion of the bore, said grooves being adapted to be traversed by ball members.

5. A drill bit comprising a body portion having the outer wall thereof rounded at its lower end and being provided with an axial bore extending from the lower end thereof for part of the length of the body portion, and with a chamber communicating with the upper end of the latter and opening through the outer wall of the body portion, said outer wall having a spiral groove therein extending from the opening to the lower end thereof and said bore having a spiral groove communicating at its lower end with said first named spiral groove and extending tothe said openin through the wall of the body portion, an a plurality of ball members adapted to work in said grooves.

GEORGE WASHINGTON GALE. 

